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Mid Length Surfboards

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Mid Length surfboards, its officially a thing!

Mid Length surfboards, they have officially taken over and are a real thing!

If you are thinking about a mid-length surfboard you are not alone, we are inundated with surfers of every age and ability level wanting to know what the crack is with these boards.

We’re seeing more and more in the water, if you’ve been anywhere between Bali and Portugal in the last few months you will have seen lots of this type of board in the water especially at the softer spots.

The Mid length seems to have simultaneously replaced grovelers, longboards and everything in between, most mid length can be misinterpreted as just boards for the smaller days, where in fact they actually come alive more in better surf, for sure you can get these out and gliding in small waves but take these out when its firing and you will have your surfing life changed.

So, what’s making people consider a mid length surfboard?

Common sense for starters, not everyone has room or can transport a 9’ plus board and a mid-length can get you pretty close to the glide without all that inconvenience.

If you have surfed a groveler, mini-simmons or a fish on smaller days, but find you struggle with wave count and maybe generating speed mid length board might well be the answer.

The need to compete against hell paddling groms weighing next to nothing or longboards is what driving the popularity of this kind of board, who doesn’t want to catch more waves?!

The other key element with these boards is that they are so adaptable, they work in a wide wave range from smaller weaker days to pretty big stuff too.

They trim well, and if you get the right board turn nicely also.

Mid Length Stack

What actually is a Mid Length Surfboard?

There are different styles of mid lengths designed to suit certain waves and conditions.

Someone coming down from a bigger board like a longboard will have different expectations to someone stepping up in length from a shortboard.

Size wise mid lengths run from 6’ 6 to about 8’ 0. This isn’t a definitive size ratio, it just gives an idea of what you’re looking for.

Boards under 6’ 6 are invariably hybrids, grovelers, shortboards etc they don’t have the same design ethos as a mid length and work in a different way.

Mid Length Board Stack

The added length and the reduced volume in nose and tail gives you paddle power but still allows the board to turn.

Anything much over 8’ begins to be more longboardy. Longboarding is a different style of surfing compared with surfing shorter boards more about the glide and trim side of surfing rather than tight turns and getting vertical!

We’ll get into the different types and styles of boards shortly.

The other thing that sets a mid length apart from shorter boards especially is the single fin, 2 + 1 or 4 + 1 fin set up.

Generally mid lengths have this option which opens up a whole new world of possibilities.

Different fin set ups can radically transform how the board surfs.

Lib Tech pickup stick

Who surfs mid lengths?

Maybe you! If you normally ride a shortboard but are just simply looking to take new lines without drastically changing the way you surf.

If you are struggling with wave count and sick of watching younger fitter surfers get your waves then maybe it’s time to take a look.

Surfing a mid length doesn’t carry the same stigma it did years ago, and anyway who cares what anyone else thinks as long as you’re having fun and enjoying your surfing!

It doesn’t mean you have to lose all the performance of a shortboard either...

Coming from the other side of things, if you’re are normally on a log a mid length is just the type of board to give you a different but not totally alien aspect on your wave riding.

The front runners in the world of the modern mid length.

Our Top Picks For Mid Lengths And Why:

Don’t forget you can order a custom version of these boards (not the Mid 6 though) for no extra cost, trade in an old board or two against a new one and pay on 0% finance.

1. Mark Phipps One Bad Egg

This is where it all began, Phippsy contacted us a good few years ago now about having a look at this board, we were young bucks (well, in our late 30s/early 40s) and were fixated with riding short high volume boards as the fashion of the time dictated. Eventually Phippsy sent us a couple of boards to try… it was a eureka moment. Much to our annoyance, everything he said about the board was true, it blew our surfing minds.

The design might be a good few years old now but the One Bad Egg is still very hard to beat, much copied but never bettered.  

Surf with a 7” centre fin and medium side fins up to 7’ 2.

Best for: paddling, high wave count, wave range

 

2. Maurice Cole Red Dingo

Maurice Cole is larger than life. We first came across him in France during long summer trips in the early 90s when pro surfing was a haze of booze and drugs with some competitive surfing thrown in for good measure. The 15 night club and Rock Food café was where you’d find most pro surfers, Maurice included, crazy hedonistic days. Maybe that’s where MC’s slightly off the wall boards designs originated, but they are without doubt some of the most innovative shapes out there.

The Red Dingo is the most accessible of his modern designs. It ticks all the mid length boxes of easy wave catching etc. but offers a higher level of performance than you might expect. The Reverse Vee (RV) and hard-edged rails give it a dynamic feel that belies the perception of what this kind of board can do.  

Surf it with the Futures Vapour core thruster set.

Best for: innovative design, combo of performance and all-round usability

 

3. Channel Islands M23

The M23 personifies what Channel Islands surfboards are all about in many ways. Functional boards with a level of performance that supersedes most other boards out there. Everyone knows about the CI Mid, Devon Howard’s incredible surfing of that board in Cali points took it to a whole new level. The M23 has just moved everything on again albeit in a board with more performance, its such a usable shape which flies in middling to better waves.

It turns much faster and tighter than a OBE for instance and for a mid length, sits in the pocket really comfortably. If you’re a shortboarder looking to delve into the mid length world this is the board for you.

Surf with the Futures AM Honeycomb thrusters    

Best for: performance in middling to better waves, ideal for shortboarders.

 

4. Harley Ingleby Thunderbolt Mid 6

The Thunderbolt tech is amazing, light, tough and performance wise is pretty much unrivalled. The Mid 6 is no groveler, it needs a decent wave to get going but when it does it absolutely flies.

 

It turns like a shortboard and changes direction with ease. It’s a huge about of fun.

Surf it as a quad with FCS II Harley Ingleby quad set.  

 

5. Ryan Lovelace Love Machine FM

The definition of an alternative surf craft is… well pretty much anyone of Lovelace’s designs but bloody hell they work so well. The FM from a usability point is the pick of the bunch, instant lift and speed that feels completely controllable, the release from rail to rail is exceptional, the board might not deliver the tightest turns of all time, but when the rail bites the reaction is immediate, this thing just makes you smile.

The added speed gives great stability as well which means even in bumpy conditions its always controllable.

Surf with the bespoke True Ames Bonzer set

Best for: trying to ignore working out what all the features of the board do and just going surfing!

Honourable Mentions

Channel Islands - Mid

Channel Islands Mid

Will, a customer of of ours, comes from both a short and longboarding background, he wanted a mid-length board that he could take out on those bigger days, duck dive with ease but still catch every wave.

After purchasing the CI Mid and taking it out for the first time, he was impressed by how smoothly it paddled into the waves and allowed him to catch everything!

He claims he was gliding and styling like Devon Howard. Whilst we can’t claim it has magical powers (who wouldn’t like to surf like Devon!?), we can confirm this board is great fun, a pleasure to surf and will no doubt put a smile on your face!

Initially the CI Mid was designed and released as a 2+1 set up, but a lot of people looked at the stunning outline of the board and the flatness in the rocker and all thought the same thing, what if this was a twin fin. With some fin box positioning adjustments, the CI Mid Twin was brought to life.

Giving the board more speed, with a loose feeling tail and plenty of fun, the Mid Twin is just as good as the original model. You want to pair this with a fin template like the Channel Islands Keel fin and you will have the perfect board and fin combination.

Take a look at his actual review:

"Great service as ever from Boardshop - board arrived as planned with no issues. First surf in 3-4 ft clean East coast - went very well - thought I was the older stockier less talented northern version of Devon Howard.... perfect!"

This is also one of Boardshop Co-owner Roger’s go-to boards. Forever stoked about surfing, he is keener than most groms; heading out in literally anything and this is the board just for that. Rog can often be seen ripping (and occasionally dropping in on our warehouse groms) at our local break on this beautiful board, usually catching more waves than anyone else… much to the annoyance of anyone out on a shortboard and any groms that get in his way.

This board flies in all conditions; from those messy, smaller days to overhead clean waves. If you are looking for the perfect all-rounder and one board quiver -look no further than the CI Mid.

 

Seastix - Mid Storm

The new player in the mid length game is coming in guns blazing! The Seastix brand that we have created in conjunction with Nigel Semmens to combine the wealth of knowledge he has with ours to bring you boards that will never disappoint. We took everything we’ve learnt about mid’s over the last two years and poured that knowledge into this board. It really does tick every box in terms of paddling etc but most importantly performance.

Boardshop’s head mafioso, Ian, was a huge lover of the Mark Phipps’s One Bad Egg, but with Brexit and supply from Europe becoming tricky, he wanted a board that could give him all the OBE could but more too.

Ian and Nigel combined ideas and their brainchild is the Seastix Mid Storm. A mid length surfboard that packs in performance but maintains paddle speed to get you in early.

The rail profile allows you to turn the board with speed and you can command this board to get where you desire with ease. Whether you have a big open face that you want to draw high lines and wrap cutbacks, or if you are looing to hook turns in the pocket, Seastix’ s Mid Storm can do it all.

You will see these filling your line ups in no time and you might find yourself wanting a piece of this magic.

Don’t just take our word for it, a customer who has been tearing up waves sent us a great review, which read:

"During the first five minutes I knew this was the board I was looking for! I got the 6.6. It’s long enough and has enough volume so the paddle isn’t hard (I’ve paddled out back as easily as I would with my 7.2 minimal) and in the first 5 minutes I caught a wave, managed to do turns straight away and it was as responsive as I wanted it to be - even better actually because I went in without expecting to score much as I thought I would need some time to get to know the board. It catches everything, really easy to paddle into waves and so light in comparison to my other board. A real winner!"

Pukas 69er Evolution

When you hear the term “one board quiver” you have a check list of things that board needs to be able to do, and this incredible board from Pukas will tick all of the boxes.

Paddle speed, check. Early wave entry, check. Stability, check. Ability to surf 1ft to 6ft, check. Can handle many wave styles, from beach breaks to points and reefs… as we said this Pukas 69er Evolution can do it all.

The DNA comes from the hugely popular original 69er model, Axel Lorentz had a goal to create the best one board to travel to any wave with, and we feel like he has achieved and exceeded his goal.

As this board has been designed as an all rounder it can work for a wide range of abilities too, from learning intermediate surfer all the way up to the top level of surfer. Blending performance with ease, Pukas’ 69er Evolution will quickly become one of the best boards you have ridden.

Surf this as a quad set up in the smaller and weaker waves, then switch this out to a thruster for more control and performance when the waves get bigger, the 5 fin set up is another big scoring point for this board and you can take away one board, with 5 fins and have the perfect set up to face any wave.

Son Of Cobra - Mid Length

A homage to classic surfboard design, this is the answer for anyone looking for a board to fill the gap between their longboard and shortboard.

A standout pick for a board to light up the cleaner, lined up days from 1ft to 5ft. This traditional and sleek looking single fin can transform surfing average and lacklustre waves into sessions that you live for!

Featuring a predominantly flat rocker, pairing with pinched 50/50 style rails and a very subtle concave running through the board, when riding the board, you feel like you are levitating, the board will draw graceful lines and trim and cruise like no other mid length.

A lot of singles can be off putting, with a reputation of being difficult to surf or control, but the design and features of this board make it the best and most user-friendly single fin you can find in the range of mid lengths available today.

Crafted using the highest quality materials, these all come with a blank that has a dark cedar wood stringer and most will have a stunning resin tint. Finished with some of the leading glassing in the world too.

You want to use a fin roughly 2” bigger than the length of the board to make the most of the Son Of Cobra Mid Length. For example, on a 7ft 2 model we use the 8.5” Christen single fin.

 

Form - Flow Stik

FORM Flow Stik

Mikee has 2 young kids, had to get rid of his van and buy a sensible estate, his longboard used to slide in the back of the van easily and go everywhere with him. He now has a car that will accommodate a 7’ 6 board max and a roof box. Life changes and you need to adapt your quiver accordingly.

We loaned Mikee a FORM Flow Stik 7’ 6, he looked far from convinced when he inspected it and referred to it as tooth pick. Off he went with very low expectations, he came back smiling. Plenty of glide, lots of fun, paddled in early and fast and gave him the fix he needed, oh yeah and it fit in the family car.

Mikee loved it so much he spared some time to leave a review on the board which went like this:

"After a lot of consideration and advice from the Boardshop team, I went with a 7'2 Form Flow Stik as something to progress on, catch more waves and ultimately have more fun. It's fair to say the Flow Stik delivers on all fronts. It's an easy paddle, catches waves early, sooooo fast, super agile but not unstable. 4-5ft seems to be the sweet spot and it just comes alive, but you can still have a lot of fun in 2ft slop. Just wish I'd got one sooner. If you want to catch more, smile more and learn more, don't hesitate."

 

Firewire - Seaside & Beyond

Should a surfboard come with a warning that you may become highly addicted to it? If one was going to, it would have to be the Firewire Seaside & Beyond. It is so much fun, you WILL fall in love.

Inspired by the time he spent with Skip Frye, Rob Machado looked at his already great “Go Fish” model and decided that was the template to adjust and stretch out to a long fish, based on traditional design and paired with modern constructions.

Once the board was created and shaped, you would b hard pressed to find footage of photos of Rob on anything other than his 7ft 0 long fish, which he chose to name the Seaside And Beyond. As Rob has done, you can surf this in anything from tiny onshore slop to 5ft lined up clean waves with open faces.

Why is this board so much fun and loved by anyone who uses it, this comes down to how remarkable the paddle speed and wave catching ability is on the Seaside & Beyond. Along with this the ability to turn the board sharply or lean on the rail and carve in a longer fashion makes for a versatile feeling mid length surfboard.

Beat the crowds in catching the wave and then make sure they are impressed when you are up and riding and throwing spray and gliding down the line with elegance.

Again, the team here love this board but so do others, Zack kindly took the time to give us a review of his new Seaside & Beyond which you can see here:

"As a south coast surfer, I'm constantly looking for a board that paddles into the double-over-anklers but is still manoeuvrable. For me, this board seems to strike the best balance, with all its features being conducive to these two key attributes. the longish fish shape gives loads of glide whilst still being manoeuvrable at 6'8”. I can’t fault the construction either, light and tough.

Obviously, the delivery time, service, packaging and communication from Boardshop was second to none as usual."


 So there it is, a small insight into the world of mid lengths, most of us here are converted.

We’re not giving up our other boards just yet but it’s a very refreshing change to surf a mid length either now and again or in concentrated bursts.

The old adage that the best surfer is the one having the most fun is a bit clichéd and makes most surfers cringe when they hear it, give a mid length a go, you never know you might like it.

So there you have it, there are new brands and new models arriving all the time, most shapers out there are planning on releasing mid lengths and those that have will have alternative iterations to be released to, so your mid length craving will continue for a while yet.

At Boardshop you can trade in your old boards against new boards, a maximum of two trade ins per new board, order a custom version of most of the boards we sell.

On the customs you can detail sprays, fin systems and set ups etc.

We also offer 0% finance, it’s an easy option to spread the cost of your new board over 6 or 12 months and with interest free credit it’s a no brainer!

The final reason to buy your boards from us is our unique Ride Out guarantee, never get left with a board you don’t like! Obviously some terms and conditions apply so check the m out on the site.

As always if you need any advice we’re here to help on 0044 1243 674250 or on email info@boardshop.co.uk

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